AusLeisure

A year after the Socceroos lifted the AFC Asian Cup, new research shows that hosting Asia's football showpiece created $81 million in economic impact for the country.

More than $7 million was added to the country’s gross domestic product by a tournament that sold more than 650,000 tickets and produced eight sold-out games - a quarter of the overall fixtures.

A retrospective study conducted by research firm EY Sweeney measured the actual impact that the 23-day tournament had nationally and by state.

Fans flocked to games generating an average attendance of 20,000 spectators per game, partly driven by Austraia’s successful run but also by a wide ranging multicultural program run by organisers in the build-up.

The research shows that $81 million total direct expenditure nationally can be attributed to the Asian Cup, generating a boost of $7.3 million to GDP.

Though this figure was only a third of some pre-tournament forecasts, the 2015 edition of the AFC Asian Cup was seen as easily the most successful in its history from a football perspective, with ticket sales 30% higher than the forecasts beforehand.

More than 300 jobs were created, 15,000 tourists came from overseas and almost 30,000 interstate travellers visited other Australian states specifically for the Asian Cup.

Of the $81 million of direct expenditure, $30 million came from the tournament’s Local Organising Committee (funded by the federal, NSW, Queensland and Victorian governments), $8m from interstate visitors and $43.2 million from international travellers.

In NSW, the report calculates there was $38 million total direct expenditure generated, nearly half of which came from international visitors.

Almost 200 jobs were created in NSW, and a third of the tournament’s international visitors came to the state.

Speaking about the tournament on its 12 month anniversary, Michael Brown, Chief Executive of the 2015 Asian Cup Organising Committee and now Chief Executive of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup,said the impact of the Asian Cup went beyond dollar terms, with Football Federation Australia tracking a 20% rise in participation numbers over a 12-month period.

Brown stated “the centrepiece of our strategy was the multicultural program, and the 200 ambassadors we appointed really helped us move large numbers of tickets to people who in many cases hadn’t been to some of these stadiums ever before.

“It was a true test of multiculturalism in Australia, and we can all be proud of its success. What surprised us was the number of people who travelled intrastate and interstate to see games, the colour they created was fantastic.

“It’s a great credit to football fans and the game - we didn’t have the Socceroos on hand for weeks beforehand to promote it, the tournament sold itself as it unfolded.”

FFA Chief Executive David Gallop said the numbers generated by the tournament validated the strength of football in Australia, adding “the Asian Cup was a massive opportunity for Australian football that has delivered positive economic, tourist, employment cultural and football development results, highlighting the power of the world game.

“The Asian Cup festival of football brought Australians of many different cultures together behind the Socceroos, but with the average attendance for the tournament over 20,000, Australians also stood behind football in Asia, and celebrated what makes our beautiful game so special.

“The Asian Cup has also given football a long term legacy with a 20% increase in participation over the last 12 months with almost 1.2 million people play in registered football competitions in Australia, and 20% of those players are women.”

8th December 2015 - FFA SURVEY SHOWS BOOM IN FOOTBALL PARTICIPATION

6th May 2015 - FFA SETS OUT 20 YEAR PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT OF FOOTBALL

13th June 2015 - MICHAEL BROWN TO HEAD 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP TEAM

2nd February 2015 - AUSTRALIAN SUCCESS ON AND OFF THE FIELD DURING THE AFC ASIAN CUP

13th May 2010 - NEW MANAGER FOR SWEENEY SPORTS

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